Tuesday, September 22, 2009

This is a picture of Vasily Radaschevsky. I snapped it by surprise at the Pasadena Farmer's Market. There were two other people in the picture but I made them disappear through the miracle of Photoshop.

Vasily is a polychaetologist, a worm expert, and a colleague of Leslie's. He is a native of Russia and lives in Vladivostok, across the pond. He visited us for several weeks this month, traveling to Pasadena from Rio de Janeiro Brazil where he spends a good deal of his time.

Vasily told us about a song entitled Pasadena. He described it as being one of the most popular pop tunes in Russia. Neither Leslie nor I had the foggiest idea of what he was talking about.

After his return to Rio he sent an mp3 of the tune with this description:

This is THE MOST popular song in whole Russia, including everfrozen Siberia!!!

Every Russian dreams to come to Pasadena, even has no any idea where it is and what's about this song! But it is so heart and soul taking that became EXTREMELY popular in my country!

Well, I am the happiest Siberian because I managed to get my feet in Pasadena!!!!

Of course, English is his second langauge (and Portuguese his third) but I think you can get his point.

Pasadena, as it turns out, is an 80's Europop tune by a Dutch group called Maywood, a kind of girl group, a duet. ABBA without the B's. Here's a video of the song Pasadena. Enjoy.